In another thread someone mentioned that only once has a team beaten a #1 team at home and then won the next week on the road in the past 20 years. I thought this was an interesting stat that I wanted to investigate further. I used the AP #1 team since I could find week by week results for that poll back to the 1996 season. Sadly, the results are not as cool as I hoped they would be.
In the past 15 seasons, the #1 team in the AP poll has only lost 22 times before Wisconsin beat Ohio State. 4 of those times were in a final game (3 BCS Championships and the 1997 Orange Bowl). Of the other 18 times, the team that beat the #1 team is 10-8 in their next game. Only 11 teams have played any actual road games (not including bowl games) after they upset the #1 team and in those they are 4-7.
Now if you only look at the last 10 season including this year (through 2001), teams that knock-off the #1 team are only 1-6 in their next road game. The only team to beat a #1 team and win their next road game was Kentucky in 2007 who beat LSU, lost to Florida and Miss State at home before winning its next road game at Vanderbilt.
Only 2 teams in the last 10 years have beat a #1 at home and gone on the road for the next game. South Carolina this year and Oregon State in 2008. Both followed up their home wins with road losses to Kentucky and Utah, respectively.
So the 0-2 sample size is pretty low to say that Wisconsin will be breaking a trend of teams knocking off #1 teams at home followed by losing on the road.
In the past 15 seasons, the #1 team in the AP poll has only lost 22 times before Wisconsin beat Ohio State. 4 of those times were in a final game (3 BCS Championships and the 1997 Orange Bowl). Of the other 18 times, the team that beat the #1 team is 10-8 in their next game. Only 11 teams have played any actual road games (not including bowl games) after they upset the #1 team and in those they are 4-7.
Now if you only look at the last 10 season including this year (through 2001), teams that knock-off the #1 team are only 1-6 in their next road game. The only team to beat a #1 team and win their next road game was Kentucky in 2007 who beat LSU, lost to Florida and Miss State at home before winning its next road game at Vanderbilt.
Only 2 teams in the last 10 years have beat a #1 at home and gone on the road for the next game. South Carolina this year and Oregon State in 2008. Both followed up their home wins with road losses to Kentucky and Utah, respectively.
So the 0-2 sample size is pretty low to say that Wisconsin will be breaking a trend of teams knocking off #1 teams at home followed by losing on the road.
